Welcome to the inaugural issue of Insurance Insights, a gathering of notable legal developments and trends relevant to the insurance industry. In this issue, the California Supreme Court covers COVID-19 claims, Georgia...more
On August 9, Maryland’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB) released its draft action plan for establishing upper payment limits (UPLs) for drugs identified as causing or likely to cause affordability challenges. The...more
In April 2024, Spotify announced a price increase for its ad-free premium subscription plan. This is the second price increase in 10 months and will go into effect in the United States later this year. According to Spotify,...more
The Fifth Circuit recently rendered a decision in Cheapside Mins., Ltd. v. Devon Energy Prod. Co., L.P. concerning a class action that arose from Devon Energy Production Company’s (“Devon”) alleged underpayment of royalties...more
A division order is a statement executed by all owners of interests in an oil and gas well. The division order’s essential purpose is to “authorize and direct to whom and in what proportion to distribute” proceeds from the...more
The IRS recently issued a news release identifying seven signs that a business’s Employee Retention Tax Credit (the ERC) may be incorrect. The IRS identified these warning signs based on feedback from tax professionals and...more
The following is a summary of selected federal Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) reports of fraud and abuse enforcement activity across the country. The enforcement actions reported...more
On January 17, 2024, New York’s Appellate Division Second Department held that “manual workers” under the state labor law do not have a private right of action to pursue alleged violations of the labor law’s weekly pay...more
The end of the year often brings a bevy of holiday compensation: bonuses, paid days off, and higher rates of pay. However, it is critical for employers to keep the Fair Labor Standards Act in mind when doling out these...more
El 8/25/23, el IRS anunció que el aumento de las tasas de interés para el cuarto trimestre del 2023 aumentaría al 8% anual para el trimestre calendario que comienza el 10/1/23 para los impuestos adeudados pero no pagados en...more
CMS recently published its remedy in response to the Supreme Court’s decision that CMS’s 340B outpatient drug payment policy violated the Medicare statute. Many hospitals that are 340B covered entities will now receive tens...more
On 8/25/23, the IRS announced that Interest rates increase for the fourth quarter 2023 would increase to 8% per year for the calendar quarter beginning 10/1/23 for taxes owed but not fully paid by individual taxpayers...more
Associates MD a/a/o Joel Gonzalez v. GEICO General Insurance Co., Broward County Case No: COINX-23-056777 - The plaintiff filed a complaint for declaratory relief and attorney fees pursuant to Fla. Stat. 627.428 against the...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a final rule on Nov. 2, 2023, detailing how the agency will remedy underpayments from 2018 to 2022 for drugs acquired via the 340B Drug Pricing Program. The final...more
In an October 10, 2023, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania dismissed a gas driller’s declaratory judgment lawsuit involving an oil and gas lease in the SWN Production Company, LLC v. Blue...more
Our October update includes a significant Supreme Court decision on how to treat historic underpayments of holiday pay, a preliminary tribunal hearing on whether a belief in race equality that opposed critical race theory was...more
There has been much case law in relation to the underpayment of holiday pay in the context of overtime and commission. That case law has reinforced the position that although claims must be issued within 3 months of an...more
The Federal Government recently introduced the latest in a series of workplace reforms into Federal Parliament. The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023 (the Bill), proposes further amendments to the...more
For decades, the Department of Labor (DOL) has recognized the impracticability of requiring Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) nonexempt employees to clock in exactly at the beginning of their scheduled shifts. In most...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have finalized rules for the recapture of erroneously claimed Employee Retention Credits (ERC) and other tax credits provided to employers for...more
On June 7, 2023, the IRS released Notice 2023-42 (the Notice), providing taxpayers relief from the addition to tax under Section 6655 in connection with the application of the new corporate alternative minimum tax (CAMT). In...more
In Short - The Background: Most Brazilian companies face tax underpayment assessments in light of a complicated tax regime. The Lula government is planning to significantly expand government expenditures and thus needs to...more
Summary: In this non-precedential opinion (see section 7463(b)), the Tax Court addresses whether or not to uphold an accuracy-related penalty assessed to taxpayer, Ashenafi Getachew Mulu (Mulu). Mulu hired David...more
We previously reported that the Fourth Circuit, via a 2-1 decision in United States ex rel. Sheldon v. Allergan Sales, LLC, 24 F.4th 340 (4th Cir. 2022), affirmed the dismissal of a False Claims Act (“FCA”) qui tam lawsuit...more
An appeal brought before the Texas Supreme Court could unleash a wave of legal action by out-of-network ER physicians pursuing insurers for underpayment of claims. Unlike in-network providers who negotiate reimbursement...more